OP
Yep, everyone is OK. Christian was a little shaken up but that is to be expected at 17yo. It was an older Escape, probably 1st or 2nd generation
Tennessee Red
- Thread starter gasiorv
- Start date
Brianj5600
TJ Expert
OP
On Christian's TJ, I was able to bend the grille back enough to get a new radiator installed and to get the headlamps pointed forward. I did that last Friday so he was only out a vehicle for one day. He said he likes the look because it gives it character. He really just doesn't want to be without his wheels!!
I found a set of fenders locally (which are now in my shed) and I found a grille on-line and it is being shipped this week. I also bought other misc parts (headlamp buckets, etc....) and they are being shipped. Haven't found a decent hood yet, but I can bend the current hood back once the new fenders and grille are installed. I also noted that his valve cover gasket is leaking much worse than before so I went ahead and ordered a new one. Not sure about bumper, I will see if I can straighten it, haven't found one local yet. Once everything is received we will have to set a day aside to get the TJ back to original, most likely going to be a project for after spring break.
I found a set of fenders locally (which are now in my shed) and I found a grille on-line and it is being shipped this week. I also bought other misc parts (headlamp buckets, etc....) and they are being shipped. Haven't found a decent hood yet, but I can bend the current hood back once the new fenders and grille are installed. I also noted that his valve cover gasket is leaking much worse than before so I went ahead and ordered a new one. Not sure about bumper, I will see if I can straighten it, haven't found one local yet. Once everything is received we will have to set a day aside to get the TJ back to original, most likely going to be a project for after spring break.
OP
Boss said that work from home is coming to an end, so this is my last "official" working remote day. Figured I would take advantage on my lunch hour to load up my Hi-Lift Jack carrier to go do some wheeling tomorrow. 2nd deceptive spring has arrived and it is sunny and 70. Should get 3rd winter and then "The Pollening" over the next few weeks.
is third winter like second breakfast??
Heading out tomorrow myself with some club members, but predicted to be 34 in the morning with a high of 48
You guys should move here if you enjoy winter so muchis third winter like second breakfast??
Heading out tomorrow myself with some club members, but predicted to be 34 in the morning with a high of 48
OP
Winter is returning. 36 deg/25 deg forecast for Saturday. TN weather, we can experience 4 seasons in 24 hours!
As noted in the wheeling trip forum, I hit Hawk Pride this past Saturday and it was a great trip. Jeep did OK, not great, I just struggled with traction all day due to wet clay being on the rocks and I couldn't stay on top of rocks to get clearance, tires just kept sliding off. If you can't stay on top, clearance becomes issue. The larger GR23 tank in the rear (which I was concerned about) did not seem to cause me issues, jeep seemed to be a little more stable with the outboarded rear shocks and rear sway bar installed but I will need to get in some dryer conditions so I can get the jeep into some precarious situations to really tell.
Issues while wheeling:
-Johnny Joints are squeaking, I think the last trip to Tackett where we crossed deep water and mud all day and then it went down to 9 deg that night may have had led to water freezing in the joints and pushing grease out, etc...
-I have a mis-fire issue on restart that is throwing cylinder mis-fire codes and causing limp mode. Clearing codes returns it to normal until shut down and restart.
-Front RCV shafts are clicking.
Post ride inspection showed the following:
-really dented in the right rear corner and broke off plastic tailgate hinge surrounds.
-small dent in the left rear corner.
-front driveshaft has some play (up down/left right, not rotational) in the slip and stub area.
-front pinion has some play (up down/left right)
-rear diff housing and rear diff cover is really worn down at lower bolt location.
-Winch rope has a few broken strands, it looks like it is right at the end of the deep bury splice, not sure if it rubbed against something or if the edge of buried rope caused a hard point.
To do before my next trip, currently schedule for SMORR April 23 (using this list as my checklist):
-I think my misfire issue may be coming from the ignition rail due to the last time I had the jeep on it's side (chocco mtn last summer) the ignition rail plug holes got filled with oil when pumping oil out of the cylinders. I am going to change the spark plugs, ignition rail, and injectors to hopefully put this to rest. Already ordered all the parts.
-Take apart and re-grease all the Johnny Joints.
- Cut out damaged section of winch rope and repair, going to taper the end of the buried section.
-Going to weld on a steel strip onto the lower side of the rear diff housing and I ordered some Hardfacing welding rods to see if that will help protect the steel strip going fwd. (I read about this fix in another thread). I already fabbed up the steel strip, just need to weld on and then add hardface strips.
-Replace Front Pinion bearings (already ordered parts).
- Front Driveshaft - I contacted Adam's and they told me that I would need to send it back to them for repair. They said it was a warranty issue but they would not charge me labor, just parts and shipping. I just sent them another message to see if there is someway for me to do the checks, purchase parts, and R&R without sending the shaft to them. I have a TW in the rear and Adam's in the front. Tom Woods seems to be much more willing to help, I have had Shawn Woods call me to help diagnose issues before and I have had them overnight me a new driveshaft, I have also had them tell me what parts I needed to order to fix my issue and after I paid they shipped the same day. I am not saying negative about Adam's, I know I am rough on parts and don't expect them to warranty abuse. I am going to try and see if they will work with me on fixing the issue fast and if not I may just buy a new TW shaft.
-Right rear corner. Not worried about the body damage, but I will need to fix(bend back to somewhat original) top rail so that I can install soft top.
As noted in the wheeling trip forum, I hit Hawk Pride this past Saturday and it was a great trip. Jeep did OK, not great, I just struggled with traction all day due to wet clay being on the rocks and I couldn't stay on top of rocks to get clearance, tires just kept sliding off. If you can't stay on top, clearance becomes issue. The larger GR23 tank in the rear (which I was concerned about) did not seem to cause me issues, jeep seemed to be a little more stable with the outboarded rear shocks and rear sway bar installed but I will need to get in some dryer conditions so I can get the jeep into some precarious situations to really tell.
Issues while wheeling:
-Johnny Joints are squeaking, I think the last trip to Tackett where we crossed deep water and mud all day and then it went down to 9 deg that night may have had led to water freezing in the joints and pushing grease out, etc...
-I have a mis-fire issue on restart that is throwing cylinder mis-fire codes and causing limp mode. Clearing codes returns it to normal until shut down and restart.
-Front RCV shafts are clicking.
Post ride inspection showed the following:
-really dented in the right rear corner and broke off plastic tailgate hinge surrounds.
-small dent in the left rear corner.
-front driveshaft has some play (up down/left right, not rotational) in the slip and stub area.
-front pinion has some play (up down/left right)
-rear diff housing and rear diff cover is really worn down at lower bolt location.
-Winch rope has a few broken strands, it looks like it is right at the end of the deep bury splice, not sure if it rubbed against something or if the edge of buried rope caused a hard point.
To do before my next trip, currently schedule for SMORR April 23 (using this list as my checklist):
-I think my misfire issue may be coming from the ignition rail due to the last time I had the jeep on it's side (chocco mtn last summer) the ignition rail plug holes got filled with oil when pumping oil out of the cylinders. I am going to change the spark plugs, ignition rail, and injectors to hopefully put this to rest. Already ordered all the parts.
-Take apart and re-grease all the Johnny Joints.
- Cut out damaged section of winch rope and repair, going to taper the end of the buried section.
-Going to weld on a steel strip onto the lower side of the rear diff housing and I ordered some Hardfacing welding rods to see if that will help protect the steel strip going fwd. (I read about this fix in another thread). I already fabbed up the steel strip, just need to weld on and then add hardface strips.
-Replace Front Pinion bearings (already ordered parts).
- Front Driveshaft - I contacted Adam's and they told me that I would need to send it back to them for repair. They said it was a warranty issue but they would not charge me labor, just parts and shipping. I just sent them another message to see if there is someway for me to do the checks, purchase parts, and R&R without sending the shaft to them. I have a TW in the rear and Adam's in the front. Tom Woods seems to be much more willing to help, I have had Shawn Woods call me to help diagnose issues before and I have had them overnight me a new driveshaft, I have also had them tell me what parts I needed to order to fix my issue and after I paid they shipped the same day. I am not saying negative about Adam's, I know I am rough on parts and don't expect them to warranty abuse. I am going to try and see if they will work with me on fixing the issue fast and if not I may just buy a new TW shaft.
-Right rear corner. Not worried about the body damage, but I will need to fix(bend back to somewhat original) top rail so that I can install soft top.
jeepster1407
TJ Enthusiast
Vic - do you have a spare front driveshaft? If not, my advice would be to order a TW shaft, then send the Adams shaft back for repair. If it’s a warranty issue, push them to cover the parts as well. Then keep the Adams as a spare.
….and yeah, I remember watching that corner go crunch.
Definitely a great day wheelin. Chris had a great time too. Thanks for Leadin’. You are the man.
….and yeah, I remember watching that corner go crunch.
Definitely a great day wheelin. Chris had a great time too. Thanks for Leadin’. You are the man.
That is quite a bit more than a "dent!" I read, "really dented" and thought you folded the fender in our something... I did not expect that!
OP
Forgot one thing, still being haunted by this rear sway bar. In the past I have bent the links (so I made more stout links) and broke the sway bar (replace twice), this time it twisted the link attach points. Where the links attaches on the frame side, it bent/twisted the bracket and started to pull the nut through the bracket. I guess the fix will be to cut off the brackets and make a new bracket that will put the bolt into double shear. That is way on the bottom of the list, if I don't get to it before SMORR, I will just remove the sway bar.
OP
What pisses me off is not that I "dented" the corner, it is that I still ended up pulling winch cable. Then to top it off, Jeff made it look easy a few minutes later.
Yeah... If you're gonna get the damage, you want to make the obstacle!
Brianj5600
TJ Expert
OP
Knife, gun, electric fan, high steer, hi-lift, whatever...… as long as we get to wheel!
Brianj5600
TJ Expert
The part that pissed me off was winching because of deep ruts. Even after you knocked the top off I still had to winch. I had a great time and hopefully we will have better conditions next time.
OP
Yeah, those ruts sucked. I think winching my diff housing through there may be what damaged my winch rope. I think that is the hardest my winch ever worked, at one point I was wondering if it was even working since I was barely moving. Chainsaw and reroute would have been better.
OP
I got my post #168 to do list completed (minus the fuel injectors, I will change injectors later). Now I just got to drive it a few times to ensure everything is good and then ready it for SMORR in April.
-I state above that the Control Arm johnny joints were squeaking, but I don't think that is where the squeak was coming from. After further investigation the squeak was coming from the rear sway bar and front anti-rock heim joints. I did end up replacing all the johnny joints though, I installed them in Oct 2017 and they have been wheeled pretty hard, worked great, and were mtc free, but they were definitely worn and ready for replacement especially the 2" joints in the upper arms.
-Front pinion bearings replaced with Timken bearings from Yukon pinion install kit. I had varying info on pinion pre-load. A few sites had 14-19 in-lbs and a few other places including the Jeep FSM had 20-40 in-lbs for new bearings. So I set them just above 20 in-lbs (low side of the FSM and just a little high of the Dana specs).
-Welded 1/4" plate to bottom of rear diff housing and then ran a few hardface beads across the plate. Eager to see how that holds up.
-Dug through my old parts bin and found some old sway bar links which had rubber bushing mounts. So I used the ends to make new links and installed them. Also beefed up the frame attach brackets. I think the damage is coming from rocks driving the links upward and this is just another temporary fix, the ultimate fix is going to be removing the sway bar and installing a rear anti-rock. The anti-rock will not have anything hanging down that can get hit by rocks, I just can't justify the cost yet and due to my GR23 tank I will have to install the torsion bar on the fwd side and packaging at the current stock wheelbase is going to be a challenge. So, keep beating on OEM sway bars it is!
-Straightened and tweaked the right rear fender top rail to allow for soft top to be reinstalled.
-Front Drive Shaft, I am just going to run it with the little bit of play that it has. After getting the pinion play taken care of the drive shaft play didn't seem as bad as I previously thought.
-Winch rope fixed.
-Replaced spark plugs with AP985 plugs and replaced ignition rail with a Hitachi brand. The last ignition rail was a NGK and it never seemed to slide on just right, but the Hitachi seems to fit good. I didn't do the injectors, because I don't like changing more than one thing at the same time just in case there is a bad part from stock or I install something incorrect and I have to do some troubleshooting.
Been busy with the Jeep, house, and at work so I haven't been checking in on other members build posts, but I should have a lull at work next week and I will get caught up then. I hope everyone is making progress and getting their rigs ready for an upcoming trip!!
-I state above that the Control Arm johnny joints were squeaking, but I don't think that is where the squeak was coming from. After further investigation the squeak was coming from the rear sway bar and front anti-rock heim joints. I did end up replacing all the johnny joints though, I installed them in Oct 2017 and they have been wheeled pretty hard, worked great, and were mtc free, but they were definitely worn and ready for replacement especially the 2" joints in the upper arms.
-Front pinion bearings replaced with Timken bearings from Yukon pinion install kit. I had varying info on pinion pre-load. A few sites had 14-19 in-lbs and a few other places including the Jeep FSM had 20-40 in-lbs for new bearings. So I set them just above 20 in-lbs (low side of the FSM and just a little high of the Dana specs).
-Welded 1/4" plate to bottom of rear diff housing and then ran a few hardface beads across the plate. Eager to see how that holds up.
-Dug through my old parts bin and found some old sway bar links which had rubber bushing mounts. So I used the ends to make new links and installed them. Also beefed up the frame attach brackets. I think the damage is coming from rocks driving the links upward and this is just another temporary fix, the ultimate fix is going to be removing the sway bar and installing a rear anti-rock. The anti-rock will not have anything hanging down that can get hit by rocks, I just can't justify the cost yet and due to my GR23 tank I will have to install the torsion bar on the fwd side and packaging at the current stock wheelbase is going to be a challenge. So, keep beating on OEM sway bars it is!
-Straightened and tweaked the right rear fender top rail to allow for soft top to be reinstalled.
-Front Drive Shaft, I am just going to run it with the little bit of play that it has. After getting the pinion play taken care of the drive shaft play didn't seem as bad as I previously thought.
-Winch rope fixed.
-Replaced spark plugs with AP985 plugs and replaced ignition rail with a Hitachi brand. The last ignition rail was a NGK and it never seemed to slide on just right, but the Hitachi seems to fit good. I didn't do the injectors, because I don't like changing more than one thing at the same time just in case there is a bad part from stock or I install something incorrect and I have to do some troubleshooting.
Been busy with the Jeep, house, and at work so I haven't been checking in on other members build posts, but I should have a lull at work next week and I will get caught up then. I hope everyone is making progress and getting their rigs ready for an upcoming trip!!
Brianj5600
TJ Expert